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Great Swamp Sanctuary
Braided Stream, Great Swamp Pool and Terrestrial Exhibits
 A visit to the Great Swamp Sanctuary Discovery Center will begin in the theater with a short introductory program on the plants, animals and living conditions found in a Lowcountry swamp. Entering the exhibit area, visitors will follow the braided stream inlay built into the floor to a display of large photo murals, graphic panels and an interactive audio visual kiosk providing an overview of the swamp’s unique ecosystem.
 As they cross a wooden footbridge, they will observe sunfish, redbreast, bluegill and pumpkinseeds swimming in a shallow braided stream on their right and gar, crappie and other common fish in the Great Swamp Pool extending to their left.
Periodically, the water level will drop a foot or two simulating dry conditions in the swamp. As the stream dries up, fish can be seen swimming under the bridge into the swamp pool. Moments later, the lights flicker, thunder booms and the water rises until the pools reach flood level appearing as if the stream will overflow the footbridge.
River Otter Habitat
 Wrestling, belly flopping, sliding or somersaulting, the playful river otter is all about fun. This imaginative display offers visitors the opportunity to observe the aquatic critters in their element. Expert swimmers and divers, otters can glide through the water at seven miles an hour hardly creating a ripple. Inside their large pool, they’ll have plenty of space to perform underwater acrobatics, paddling with their webbed hind feet and using their tails to steer. A valve-like skin keeps water out of the otter’s ears and nose allowing the water loving mammal to stay submerged for up to four  minutes. Behind the swimming hole, a large rock formation featuring replicated trees will provide the otters with limbs to slide down and a platform to demonstrate their diving skills. When it’s time to rest, the otters can be seen through a one-way window sleeping in their den.
Alligator Slough
 Spotting an American alligator in the Great Swamp can prove to be a challenge as these semi-aquatic reptiles are shy and blend like chameleons into their natural environment. Darkened by the tannic acid in the water, they are often mistaken for a bumpy log floating in a pond. Even if you’re not fortunate enough to spy a gator in the wild, you’ll have the  opportunity to observe them in the Discovery Center’s alligator slough. When they’re not swimming with the snapping turtles— one of the few species that can share living space with alligators—they’re basking on the shore allowing visitors to marvel at their armored, lizard-like bodies and flat muscular tails.
Beaver Dam Tunnel
 Kids won’t be able to resist crawling through the manmade beaver dam tunnel adjacent to the alligator slough. At the end of the tunnel they’ll find a dome-shaped hut designed to resemble the real-life beaver lodge built out of twigs in a pond along one of the Sanctuary’s nature trails. From their underground perch, our pint-sized visitors can peek through a semi-circular window to watch the prehistoric-looking alligators gliding stealthily through the brackish water. This interactive exhibit is one of several displays in the Discovery Center offering a close-up view of some of the Sanctuary’s native wildlife. A series of terrarium and aquarium tanks will serve as a changing showcase for a variety of fish, reptiles and amphibians essential to the ecosystem.
Raptor and Migratory Fowl Enclosures (Expansion Exhibits)
 Outside the Great Swamp gallery, an elevated wooden walkway will lead visitors to the Raptor and Migratory Fowl enclosures that could house such stunning species as the red-tailed hawk, swallow-tailed kite, great horned owl and bald eagle. Though not a part of the initial construction, this exhibit is a testimony to the city’s vision of future development and the growth of tomorrow. Graphic railing panels will identify the rescued birds in each aviary and explain the role they play in the Great Swamp. More than eighty species of birds inhabit the Spanish moss-covered oaks, bald cypress trees, massive pines and various other hardwoods that make up the bottomland forest. At the far end of the walkway, a multi-level overlook will offer a canopy-view of the swamp and the trails that lead through it. More in-depth information on the swamp’s flora and fauna, including a list of birds and wildlife most recently observed in the Sanctuary, can be obtained at interactive audio-visual kiosks to be located in the overlook. At the kiosks, visitors will have the opportunity to print out checklists of species to look for while walking the trails. When they return, they can enter their own sightings at the Discovery Center.
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